Increased fares introduced with the oyster card

March 17, 2011 10:06 AM

Local MP Tom Brake expects the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to get his facts straight about the controversial decision to abolish all day daily travelcards covering zones 1-5 and 2-6. The decision to withdraw travelcards covering these zones means people now have to buy an all day zones 1-6 travelcard instead, forcing them to spend more money on their travel than they would have previously.

At a recent Mayoral Question Time, Johnson was asked if he would look again at the decision to axe travelcards covering zones 2-6 in light of the particular impact it has had on those living in outer London boroughs such as Sutton. The Mayor responded by arguing that:

"The limited number of people who used to buy the one day tickets that have been withdrawn can contain their travel card costs by switching to Oyster card pay as you go."

However, the peak price cap for Oyster pay-as-you-go travel in zones 2-6 and 1-5 has been set at £15, the equivalent of buying an anytime zones 1-6 travelcard anyway. This represents a substantial price hike considering an old zones 1-5 travelcard cost £12.60 and a huge increase on the old price of a peak zone 2-6 travelcard, which cost £9.

Tom said:"This shows that the Mayor's suggestion that people who would have bought the all day zones 1-5 and 2-6 travelcards can save money using Oyster simply isn't true. I'm concerned that this disproportionately affects residents of out London boroughs such as Sutton."

"This is an issue that has been brought to the attention of the Mayor but he simply refuses to admit any fault in the pricing and clearly displays a lack of concern for local residents travelling through zones 1-5 and 2-6."